Two share stories of Iraq's rebuilding

Monday

Just weeks ago, Army Capt. Eric Fedak had another job, civil affairs team leader with Co. B, 414th Battalion, coordinating and overseeing rebuilding in Baghdad, Iraq.

Eric Fedak has it all. He's a husband and proud father of three, has a house in Henderson County and a good job.

Feisty Betsy Weiner is heading for Washington to create videos showing the progress the Army's Corps of Engineers is making in Iraq.

Rebuilding Iraq

Just weeks ago, Army Capt. Eric Fedak had another job, civil affairs team leader with Co. B, 414th Battalion, coordinating and overseeing rebuilding in Baghdad, Iraq.

"A lot of things there are simple solutions," Fedak said.

But getting them done is not so simple.

Just to go "outside the wire," away from the secure Army area, he had to put on all his gear and get three Humvees with an average of four men each for security, plus one or two interpreters. Sometimes there would be a Stryker along. A Stryker is an eight-wheeled vehicle with several different firing systems aboard.

Aerial maps helped locate areas in disrepair, Fedak said. Once damage was located, they would report back and determine the most needy, which repairs would make the biggest difference. Basic services such as water, sewage, trash removal, electricity, education and marketplaces were on the list.

Then the local government leaders have to be contacted.

"Once you get their trust, everyone wants to talk to you," Fedak said. "We always remember that we are not there to Americanize the area. I would ask, 'How would this be fixed in the Iraqi way so you would be satisfied?'" he said.

Local workmen are contracted and subcontracted. The supplies and security were provided by the Army.

One of the projects Fedak is most proud of is a marketplace in the Al Hadher or Al Arkham neighborhood of Baghdad. There are 40 storefronts with a roofed open-air market around two sides. There are stores such as butcher shops and a clinic. The open-market area has ceiling fans and electric outlets and room for 30 to 35 vendors. There's a generator with a security wall around it. There are barricades in the street, so no vehicles can get close.

When they put the generator in, they filled the tank with one week's diesel fuel.

"I told the manager, 'I will not refill this tank. It is your responsibility to charge the vendors to keep it going,'" Fedak said. "We got it up and running in December and it is still running."

Bronze Star

Fedak, 33, received a Bronze Star. Rebuilding in Iraq is not just a construction job. The citation mentions 200 mounted civil affairs combat missions, five separate indirect fire attacks and four separate direct fire attacks, all of which Fedak takes in stride.

Fedak grew up in Henderson County, is a graduate of West Henderson High School and joined the N.C. National Guard.

Fedak compares life in Iraq to being behind bars.

"It's like being in prison," Fedak said. "There is so much security involved to go anywhere and so many dangerous areas, it is just easier to stay 'inside the wire.'"

"It was like prison here, too," said his wife, Laura, with a smile.

She was at home on her own, taking care of Erika, 20 months, and twins Zak and Annika, 9 months.

"It's a great feeling to be home," Fedak said. "It's a different pace of life here."

Southern Iraq

Far south of Baghdad, the Army Corps of Engineers is rebuilding on a much larger scale.

In this most rural region of Iraq, a determined Betsy Weiner, 52, completed three tours as a civilian with the Corps of Engineers as public affairs officer for the Gulf Region Southern District in Iraq. She has just returned home from a 14-month tour in Iraq.

"My friends think I'm crazy," Weiner said. "Maybe I am.

"In the United States, the 'corps' is a construction branch of the service," she said. "In Iraq, we administer construction of civilian contractors. We are overseers, in some cases direct with Iraqi contractors."

Initially the Corps of Engineers was tasked with assessing damage in five areas: water; electricity; security and justice; buildings, health and education; and transportation/ communication.

"The people wouldn't tell you what they needed," Weiner said. "They were so used to not speaking up under Saddam. Now they are telling us what they need."

There's a big push to put as many Iraqis back to work as possible. There are some 130 engineers in southern Iraq. They are working on schools, hospitals and roads. These are structures that have been totally demolished and have to be built from the ground up.

Iraqi people

"The people in this region are very poor," she said. "You can go through a village and see raw sewage running down the street. You will see a mud hut with a reed roof, and a satellite dish."

Yet poverty leads them to loot the electrical substation for scrap metal to sell, Weiner said.

"It is very hard to get the word out to the people about what we are doing," she said. "There is a healthy, thriving small press in many places. But they are not ad-based. If you want something in the paper, you pay for it."

The Army cannot pay for the news. It would be considered propaganda.

"There is progress being made," Weiner said. "The American people need to know that. But the country is too decimated. It's not going to happen overnight."

What's next

Weiner stopped in Hendersonville to visit her parents, Bill and Barbara Weiner.

She is now heading to Washington. As a professional photographer, she will work to create videos and enlarge the digital library used to "get the word out" about progress in Iraq.

"The Iraqi people are just like anyone else," she said. "All they want to do is raise their children safely in a relatively clean, safe environment."

Iraqi Col. Marknur Farood told Weiner he hoped that "in 10 years you will come over here as tourists."

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